“We’re open!” Retailers change Thanksgiving forever

Where are your Thanksgiving dinner guests? Shopping? Working to serve the shoppers?

Thanksgiving is no longer a day to simply rest and be thankful. It’s not about the family gathered around the table. It’s not about the parades and the football game. It’s not even about the turkey and stuffing. It’s about stuff.

In an effort to boost their bottom lines, retailers have finally succeeded in making this day about convincing you to focus on acquiring stuff.

Photo by Woodleywonderworks

This year a few more stores will be open, like Sears and Toys R Us.

Author Thomas Hine (I Want That! How We All Became Shoppers), is convinced that more and more stores will jump on the bandwagon because–well, they can.

“This is an experiment by retailers to see how we will behave,” Hine says.

Now they know.

It’s too late to go back. We’re no longer able to count on having the whole family enjoy an entire day together, thankful for their blessings and the Blesser.

Count me as at least one person who is NOT thankful for this change. I want to go back to a time when you could set a time for dinner based on everyone’s travel time–not their work schedules. And definitely not their doorbuster strategies.